A Mission Accepted

Instead of relying solely on the traditional door-to-door proselytizing techniques in France, Romney had pitched articles to newspapers about Mormonism and arranged public slideshows about the United States, showing pictures from missionaries' home towns. He had approached patrons in bars, even though he never drank, in adherence to Mormon doctrine. He had told jokes and laughed raucously, even though some of his peers frowned on such frivolity.

And here again, in his sudden role as co-president, Romney urged McKinnon to think outside the norms. Romney's left eye was still bruised and a cast covered his right arm, but he insisted that missionaries not be left with time to dwell on the accident. Instead of trudging along and trying to maintain the status quo until Anderson returned, Romney said, why not galvanize the missionaries by trying for something great?

Together, Romney and McKinnon conceived of what they called the Drive to 200. Almost halfway through 1968, the mission in France had performed only 70 baptisms, and that rate had slowed dramatically in the preceding two months because of the tumult across France. Romney and McKinnon printed and distributed a brochure with the headline, "SET YOUR GOALS." In bold blue ink, the pamphlet proclaimed: "The French mission has set its goal: 200 baptisms by Jan. 1st 1969."

"We all bought into that," said Byron Hansen, then the mission secretary. "That became our common goal, our rallying cry."

Romney traveled across France to encourage other missionaries. He led conferences and grew comfortable speaking in front of crowds. Sometimes, to inject levity, he would perform songs he had written with friends, parodies of life as a missionary sung to popular tunes of the 1950s and '60s.

When he spoke about the Drive to 200, Romney motivated missionaries by using the same techniques he would later rely on while raising money at Brigham Young University, while starting an investment firm, while running for governor of Massachusetts: Here, he told his peers, was a chance to be a part of something memorable. A chance to make history.

"He developed a vision, developed and plan and then inspired people," said Dane McBride, a fellow missionary. "It was just impressive to watch him work. He said, 'Guys, we'll look back at this someday when we're 40 years old and be able to say: We did this. That was us.' "

Anderson returned to Paris a few months later, accompanied by his son and daughter-in-law, to find the mission in excellent shape. The missionaries eclipsed 200 baptisms in 1968, the first time they had reached that benchmark in about a decade. A few months later, Romney flew home with his confidence fortified. He had identified a lofty goal and then achieved it, a strategy he planned to replicate whenever opportunity called.